Distinguished HAI Public Policy and Patient Safety Advocate to Serve as 2016 APIC President

Susan A. Dolan, RN, MS, CIC, hospital epidemiologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, will serve as 2016 president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Dolan has contributed to advocacy, clinical practice, education, and research in the field of infection prevention for more than 20 years. As an advocate for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) public policy, she spearheaded the crafting and passage of Colorado’s first HAI reporting bill in 2006. Ms. Dolan’s outbreak investigative work uncovered contamination of alcohol prep pads, which resulted in an international recall of the product and changes in industry standards. Her role in discovering contaminated alcohol prep pads earned her a Group Recognition Award from the FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs in 2012.

Throughout her career, she has been a mentor for infection preventionists, providing consultation and education to APIC members, as well as colleagues from across the healthcare spectrum. Dolan has spoken at numerous local and national conferences; she has also been active in several local and national infection prevention working groups and collaboratives, including the Colorado Health Facility Acquired Infection Advisory Committee, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Deputy Infection Preventionist, CDC Pediatric and Neonatal VAE Surveillance Definition Working Group, US News and World Report’s Pediatric Infection Control Working Group, Child Health Corporate of America’s Infection Prevention Directors Steering Committee, and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions Hematology/Oncology CLABSI Team and its Blood Culture Guideline Working Group.

“We are pleased that Susan Dolan will lead our association as 2016 president,” says APIC chief executive officer Katrina Crist, MBA, CAE. “Ms. Dolan has served APIC in numerous capacities, including president of the APIC Mile High (Colorado) chapter, chair of APIC’s Public Policy Committee, senior advisor to APIC’s Regulatory Review Panel, and as an APIC Board of Directors member. Her experience, knowledge, and passion for infection prevention position her well to lead APIC and to advance APIC’s mission of creating a safer world through the prevention of infection.”

Dolan has received numerous honors including APIC Hero of Infection Prevention Award in 2006, APIC President’s Distinguished Service Award in 2012, and the 2012 SHEA Advanced Practice Infection Preventionist Award. Dolan was the recipient of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s first Infection Prevention Champion Award in 2011, and the prestigious Colorado Nightingale Luminary Award in 2012. Children’s Hospital Colorado has also honored her over the years with various awards and recognitions.

She has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts ranging from topics such as pediatric neurosurgical shunt infections, prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections in specialty populations, pediatric C. difficile, injection safety, public policy, and infection control in anesthesia.

Source: APIC